Côme Ledésert

Toni is a fisherman in Lampedusa. He sees men, women and children arriving from other continents. Who are these migrants traveling by sea on an island at Europe’s doors, departing again as soon as they can if they haven’t perished on their way? Through his testimony, intercut by animation that take him on a journey as forced witness, this documentary invites us to question our perception of migrants in Europe – between our tenacious fantasies, Toni’s reality and the persisting dreams of migrants.

Côme Ledésert is a French filmmaker and practice-based PhD student in Film Studies at the University of Westminster, London, UK. His documentary short “Almut” (2014, 10′) was selected in several international film festivals in USA, Canada and Germany. By intercutting animation with documentary footage, his film “Persisting dreams” (2015, 25′) about the migration issue in Lampedusa tells the story of Toni, a fisherman who binds friendship with migrants. “Persisting dreams” premiered at the World Film Festival (Canada), won 3 awards and was selected in over 30 film festivals, among others at Oaxaca Film Fest (Mexico), Japan Media Arts Festival, Etiuda&Anima (Poland) and Jean Rouch International Film Festival (France) where it was awarded with a “Special Mention”.